"Good Friday" contains multiple allusions to the Christian Bible. The speaker struggles to emotionally connect with the story of the Crucifixion, so it makes sense that the poem hews so closely to the book that describes this event: the Bible is part of both the speaker's problem and, they hope, their solution. Biblical allusions also demonstrate that, put simply, the speaker knows their stuff. In terms of theological learning, the speaker has all the credentials of a good Christian.
Of course, the speaker fears this intellectual understanding doesn't matter all that much if they have no emotional response. The allusions to the Bible in the second stanza provide examples of people who did feel the significant impact of Jesus's death, in clear contrast to the speaker:
- For example, the speaker mentions women who "lamented" with "exceeding grief." This echoes Luke 23: 27: "there followed [Jesus] a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him." This allusion demonstrates how the speaker, in their view, ought to behave on Good Friday.
- The speaker also mentions "fallen Peter": a disciple of Jesus who betrayed Christ by pretending not to know him (in order to preserve his own safety). But even Peter, who effectively failed his test of faith, came to "weep[] bitterly" at Jesus's death, and went on to play a formative role in the growth of the Christian faith. The mention of bitter weeping specifically echoes Matthew 26:75: "And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, who had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly."
- The poem nods to another biblical figure with the reference to the thief on the cross next to Jesus who "was moved" too, realizing that he was in the presence of the divine. He felt Jesus's significance and changed his view accordingly—the speaker is a devoted follower, but can't properly feel the tragedy of Christ's death.
All three examples intensify the speaker's pain and isolation, amplifying their spiritual turmoil.
The poem's use of allusion can also be read in a more positive light, however. By hewing so closely to the Bible, the speaker closes the temporal gap between then and now (even if doesn't feel like it for them). This, perhaps, suggests that the quest for faith and communion with Jesus/God is a timeless human endeavor. In short, allusion creates a sense of continuity between the poem and Christian tradition. This is important because the speaker also finds biblical ideas to reassure them in their time of need:
- The speaker might worry that they are a "stone," but this metaphorical idea references a passage in the Bible in which God promises to replace "heart[s] of stone" with "heart[s] of flesh." That is, to grant cold, unfeeling people the power of emotion. There's biblical precedent, then, to suggest that God will help the speaker.
- A similar hope emerges in the speaker's reference to Jesus as the "true Shepherd of the flock," by which the speaker means the genuine leader of humanity in the eyes of God. In John 10:11, Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep." Elsewhere in the Bible, he tells how a good shepherd will seek out a lost sheep even if it means temporarily leaving the rest of the flock. The speaker desires a similar spiritual rescue operation!
Everything in the poem, then, passes through a kind of filter of biblical allusion, proving the strength of the speaker's faith. Allusions provide a roadmap for the speaker's journey from profound doubt to desperate hope.